The Levels of Club Affiliation
There are currently four basic levels of club
affiliation for the Wolf Pack MC. These are:
- Friend of the Club:
This level of club affiliation consists of people who have made some
sort of formal or informal contact with the club, perhaps most commonly
through a friendship or acquaintance with a full patch member, but who
have not announced an intention of prospecting for future membership.
Friends of the club may decide to join the club on rides or attend other
club functions and may do this on a very frequent or infrequent basis.
The key distinction is that they have not expressed any intent to join
the club. A friend of the club may be a bike rider, though this is not
necessary. Friends of the club wear no official club “colors”
or patches and pay no dues. A friend of the club may eventually develop
an interest in formalizing his/her relationship to the club by prospecting
for the club at some point in the future. Friends of the club should
realize that the Wolf Pack respects all patch clubs and with the awareness
comes a responsibility to not do anything while associated with the
Wolf Pack MC that would bring embarrassment or negativity to this or
a member of any other club.
- Hangaround:
This level of club affiliation
consists of people who have stated an intention of prospecting for the
club but have not either formally announced their desire to prospect
yet or have simply not been presented to the club for a vote on their
prospect status yet. The “hangaround period” may vary vastly
from person to person. It is also possible for one to go from being
a hangaround to being a friend of the club or from being a hangaround
to becoming a prospect. The former would usually occur when the person,
after hanging around the club for a while, decided to no longer have
the intent of joining but still wanted to join in on club rides or events.
Anyone who intends to prospect for the club must go through some hangaround
period first. The hangaround period is a relatively informal time for
someone who is interested in the club to spend some time with club members,
go on some club rides, etc. It is also a time for the person to get
a feel for how much they fit with the Wolf Pack culture, so to speak.
It's also a time for the club to engage in the same evaluation
process with regard to the hangaround. A hangaround will usually be
a rider with his/her own bike. This however, will not always be the
case and is not absolutely necessary. The hangaround wears no official
club colors or patches and pays no dues. Hangarounds are expected to
show a level of respect to all Wolf Pack full patch members and patched
members of any other club as well as to show respect to Wolf Pack MC
prospects and prospects of all other patch clubs.
-
Prospect:
A prospect is someone who has stated a clear intention of being
a full patch member of the club and has also been voted in by at
least 75% of the full membership of their chapter of application
and has a full member sponsor in the club. The Wolf Pack MC bylaws
state the prospect period will be 3 months to 1 year in duration.
A prospect must be voted in by a majority of the full members in
good standing to become a full patch member. Not all prospects will
eventually become full patch members. Some will realize during their
prospecting period that the club is not for them. For others, the
club will realize that the prospect is not a good fit for the club.
The prospect level of club affiliation is the first level that includes
a clearly stated obligation to attend a certain number of rides,
meetings and events of the club. While a prospect has no voting
privileges, he/she is considered a “member” of the club
in more defined ways than a friend of the club or a hangaround.
A prospect is expected to follow the bylaws. A prospect must have
his/her own bike. A club prospect wears Wolf Pack prospect colors
on both the front and rear of the vest. A prospect pays no dues
but does pay for prospect colors and is expected to contribute to
the well-being and overall good of the club in any way the club
officers, his/her club sponsor or any full patch member feels is
appropriate. In the Wolf Pack MC no prospect will be asked to perform
any task that a full patch member would not also potentially be
asked to perform………and, prospects will be asked
to perform tasks. Prospects are expected to show a level of respect
to all Wolf Pack full patch members and to the members and prospects
of all patch clubs. To learn more about our prospecting process,
read our prospect FAQs.
- Full Patch Member:
A full patch member of
the Wolf Pack MC is someone who has been voted into the club by a majority
of the full members in good standing of the chapter they are a member
of. A full patch member has demonstrated being in alignment with the
principles, philosophy and bylaws of the club. The full patch member
has voting privileges and follows the club bylaws. A full patch member
(and only a full patch member) is allowed to wear the full club “colors”
or backpatch and other official Wolf Pack gear and nametags bearing
the official club colors. A full patch member is expected to respect
his/her brother and sister club members and to show this same level
of respect to any patch member of any other club. A full patch member
knows and embodies the 10 founding principles of the Wolf Pack MC.
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